With irreverant satire, William Hogarth ridiculed the upper crust, and enjoyed himself in the process. Here's a video overview of his "Marriage A-la-Mode," a series lampooning the British upper crust.
The series of paintings are at the National Gallery in London. The 18th century prints are now on exhibit at the Sonoma County Museum.

18th Century Satirist
William Hogarth Skewers
the British Upper Crust

William Hogarth's satiric paintings were baudy and cutting. In his day, the rising British middle class was hungering for validation, and if that validation came at the expense of skewering the bloated aristocracy, all the better.

Hogarth knew this well, and carved out for himself a niche in the British print market, selling series of etchings offering stinging social commentary on the excesses of the rich.

William Hogarth, Self Portrait

His works were wildly popular. After completing a series of paintings, he would employ artists to make etchings. He sold them at affordable prices. His series Marriage A-la-Mode shows six scenes from a disastrous and tragic arranged marriage. In this series, a formerly wealthy Earl tries to marry off his son with the daughter of a rich merchant, blending his old inherited title with some badly needed (although newly minted) wealth. The series of six paintings entitled "Marriage A-la-Mode," is a cautionary tale of the hazards of blending money and title without love. If you take the series on its face, its a tragedy, but from the context of the British middle class, it was a humorous and deliciously mean-spirited poke at the upper crust.

"Marriage A-la-Mode" was first offered in the 1740's, a generation before the War for American Independence. You can see these prints currently on exhibition at the Sonoma County Museum. The original paintings reside in the National Gallery in London.

Below are side by side images of these paintings and the prints. Once Hogarth's artists made drawings of his paintings, they etched the drawings onto copper plates with the resulting images being reversed (mirror like) from the original paintings. Ghosts of the photographer's reflection is visible due to the glass covering the prints.

Enjoy these six witty scenes and appreciate the sophistication of Hogarth's biting wit. If you dig deep enough, at Hogarth's core is the belief there is no real difference between rich, the middle class and the poor. No one class is above another. As Oscar Wilde would later say, "A rich man is nothing but a poor man with money." The poor souls in "Marriage A-la-Mode" are cartoon characters offered as a proof to this point.

SCENE ONE ... In The Marriage Settlement, Hogarth shows the bankrupt Earl Squanderfield hoping to marry off his egotistical son to the obedient daughter of a wealthy but miserly merchant. Through the window, we see construction of the Earl's new mansion, one of the reasons he needs to arrange for a large dowry. To help seal the deal, the Earl shows off his son's pedigree, evidenced from his family tree chart. The son, disinterested in the proceedings, chooses to focus on his image in a nearby mirror. Meanwhile, the merchant's daughter, distressed by the proceedings, is counseled by her father's lawyer, Silvertongue, as he polishes her wedding ring. The portraits adorning Earl Squanderfield's parlor seem to be glaring down with stares of judgemental misgiving. The two dogs in the corner of the picture are disinterested in each other, echoing the newly minted couple's relationship.

SCENE TWO ... In The Tete a Tete, we see the new marriage is a disaster. We find the young couple seated in their parlor the morning after a night of debauchery. They couldn't be less interested in each other! Each appears to have quenched their desire in extra-marital indulgences the night before. The small dog digging in the husband's pocket is removing a lady's cap, evidence of another woman the night before. A broken sword at his feet is evidence that he's been in a fight. The wife's posture with her legs open suggests she too has been unfaithful. The home's appearence is in disarray, while a servant holds a fist full of bills. The marriage is in a real mess!

SCENE THREE ... In The Inspection, the disastrous marriage spirals down into real tragedy. The husband is pictured visiting a quack hoping to cure his syphilis, evidenced from the lesion on his throat. He is demanding a refund, angry about the mercury pills he had been given to cure him. Meanwhile, his young prositute who accompanies him to this "doctor," dabs at an open sore in her mouth, also early sign of syphilis.

SCENE FOUR ... The Toilette. The old Earl has died and the young couple rises in the social order, assuming inherited titles. But even though they are now Earl and Countess, their disaster of a marriage continues. The Countess sits with her back to the guests, oblivious to them while a servent attends to her. Making a second appearance in this picture is the lawyer Silvertongue, suggesting he is the one having an affair with the Countess. A child seated on the floor in front of the couple holds a statuette of Actaeon, a easily recognizable symbol of cuckoldry during the 18th century.

SCENE FIVE ... The Bagnio. (In London, the term "Bagnio" refered to Turkish coffee houses known for renting rooms without question, ideal for illicit encounters.) In such a room, the affair is discovered. The Earl busts through the door. Silvertongue draws a sword and fatally wounds the Earl. The painting shows the wounded Earl as Silvertongue retreats out the window. The Countess takes to a knee and begs forgiveness from her dying husband. The painting on the wall is of a woman with a squirrel, which was filled with lewd undertones for 18th century viewers.

SCENE SIX ...The Lady's Death, the sixth and final scene of the series finds the deceased body of the Countess. She's not shamed by her grief, but rather her widowhood and poverty. She is slouched over in a chair where she had poisoned herself. An old woman holds the Countess' child as the child kisses her mother for the last time. A mark on the child's cheek suggests that syphilis has been passed on to the next generation. The Countess' father, still the miserly merchant as evidenced by the scant furnishings in his house, removes the wedding ring from his daughter's hand, ending the tragic marriage he had schemed to arrange in the first scene.

All told, these six images seem to tell a sad story. but for Hogarth's audience which had neither wealth nor title, it provided a cynically humorous commentary on the upper class. To understand this better, consider the comedic filmmaker Mel Brooks who once explained the difference between comedy and tragedy. He said, "Comedy is when you break your leg, tragedy is when I break my fingernail." Hogarth would have readily agreed.

Andrew Wyeth was fascinated with windows. He created over 300 works featuring windows. For him, the window was a bridge from his private inner self to the public world. For us, Wyeth's paintings are a window into Wyeth's artistic soul.

Airing Out, watercolor on paper

Windows allow people to see in and to see out.

For Wyeth, windows provided an opportunity to create all kinds of artistic ponderings within his paintings. He could explore internal and external light, movement of wind, weathered paint, shadows and beams of light. With these elements, he enticed his viewers to explore deeper meanings, such as how to be aware of one's deep inner self as one lives in the outer world.

in this wonderful biographical documentary, former Monty Python
member Michael Palin travels to Maine and Pennsylvania
to tell the story of Andrew Wyeth's artistic life.

Frostbitten, 1962, watercolor

In the summer of 1947, Wyeth visited Cushing, Maine, where he painted a scene from the attic of the Olson house. A sudden wind caught the thin lace curtains. In that moment, Wyeth found inspiration for his "Wind from the Sea." This work show's Wyeth's visual precision, a quality his works exhibit from early in his career. Looking at this painting, you can't help feel the cool outside air breezing in.

Wyeth reflected on his moment of inspiration for this painting. "That summer in 1947, I was in one of the attic rooms feeling the dryness of everything and it was so hot I pried open a window. A west wind filled the dusty, frayed lace curtains and the delicate crocheted birds began to flutter and fly. . . . My whole idea is to keep myself open for the elusive something off balance when I would least expect it. I drew a very quick sketch and had to wait for weeks for another west wind for more studies."

Wind from the Sea, tempera on hardboard

Spring Fed, tempera on masonite

Rod and Reel, watercolor on paper

Wyeth had a way of telling a story by inviting sensations within the viewer.

Just as Wind from the Sea creates in the viewer a sense of fresh breezes, so Spring Fed (above) suggests sounds, as spring water gurgles into a barn trough. The cow outside suggests further sounds and scents of a working farm.

Rod and Reel are laying at the ready outside a closed window. Why aren't they being used? Obviously, the owner has duties inside. There's no doubt he'd rather be outside fishing, but first things come first. The window on the opposite side of the chamber suggests we are often surrounded by sun-filled opportunities, but are trapped by internal responsibility.

Off to Sea, a sailor has left his a clean white painted porch behind. While he's gone, a wide cloud filled landscape is smartly reflected in the panes of glass behind the porch. It's as if the reflected landscape is awaiting him to traverse that landscape on his return home. An simple empty wire hanger awaits the return of a coat now worn by that sailor away at sea. The light reflecting off the window glass onto the bench gives witness to hope for a safe return.

When you first hear this news, there's a disconnect. Taking Philadelphia's neo-classical Beaux Arts museum masterpiece and asking Frank Gehry to renovate it is like asking cubist Pablo Picasso to be a conservator for a piece by the Italian master Titian. After all, neo-classical architecture is loaded with right angles and exact classical proportions, while Gehry's architecture has more curves than a dancing chorus line.

But Frank Gehry was intrigued and challenged. Honored when asked, Gehry wanted to take Julian Abele's original Philadelphia Museum architecture, and expand and open up the exhibition space, not diminishing the exterior in the slightest. He says, when the job is done, you'll be able to drive past and not know that Frank Gehry had ever been there.

The Philadelphia Museum has a problem familiar to all similar institutions. While its collection has continued to grow, its building has not. To remedy the situation, making the most of the space they already have had to be the answer. Frank Gehry's challenge is to take this building, expand exhibtion space, allowing for more art displays, add an education center and even a new cafe.

His plans call for new underground galleries to be lit by skylights embedded in a terrace above. The museum's core will be opened up adding a sense of airiness, improving sight lines and giving visitors a better sense of orientation. Gehry is also opening up a street-level vaulted walkway which was once the museum's public entrace, but has been closed for half a century so the area could be used as a loading area.

The renovated building will enjoy the glow of more natural light, and its spaciousness will make the museum experience more navigable. It will also make the Philadelphia Museum of Art an updated and modern neighbor for the Barnes Foundation Museum just up the street, making Philadelphia a must-see for art lovers from all over.

Left ... The Philadelphia Museum of Art's new bannered champion, Frank Gehry. With bold ideas, he's set to revive this major American museum for a bright future. We predict he'll deliver a knock-out!
Above, Rocky Balboa has made the Phildadelphia Museum of Art recognizable throughout the world.

Shot from the film interview below, Frank Gehry speaking of himself being thrilled by the challenge of taking on the Philadelphia Museum of Art

How will Gehry deal with the famous stairway made famous by Rocky Balboa? Gehry has an idea. He suggests building a sunken seating area in the middle of the steps with a window peeking into the art galleries below. Museum people can look out into the city, while stair climbers and movie buffs can look in. "It invites people into the museum," president Gail Harrity said. But she stressed it's only a suggestion right now and is not included in the first phase of renovations.

In the final analysis, it appears Frank Gehry's efforts will help the Philadelphia Museum of Art by making it a better and user-friendly museum while maintaining its iconic presence, a beautiful neo-classical wonder, and by not destroying its familiarity among generations of movie fans.

Let the construction begin!

An interview wth Frank Gehry, discussiong the Philadelphia project,
adding some new punch to an old Philly favorite.

And, just in case you haven't seen it enough, here's Rocky's triumphant run through Philly, ending in the famous scene atop the steps at the
Philadelphia Museum of Art

Our Gallery Hours are from 12:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M., Wednesday through Sunday. We are also available for scheduled appointments, especially for those who wish to view the gallery on Mondays or Tuesdays. Please call Dan at the gallery and schedule a visit, or call him on his cellphone, 510-414-9821

Jean Warren during one of her Bodega Bay Heritage Gallery painting demonstrations,
pictured here with a crew of watercolor enthusiasts

To the left ... A photo from
Jean Warren's watercolor demo
during Jean's show, Watercolor ~ Inside and Out
Wednesday, July 23

pictured left to right, Jean Warren with a painting in process, watched over by former students,
... Linda, Judi, Doris, Libby & Sandra.

Jean will host three more painting demos on
Sunday, August 3
Wednesday, August 6
& Sunday, August 10

Drop in and say "Hi," and leave saying "Good BUY!"
Make a "Jean Warren" painting part of your collection.

Our gallery friend, Bodega Bay photographer John Hershey has posted some of his pieces on SonomaCoastArt.com. Click the link below to view some of his stunning new work.

Two very different perspectives regarding the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art

From Chicago ... The Chicago Sun Timesreports the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art has chosen an architectural firm to design their new Grant Park musem. Jeanne Gang and her Studio Gang will design the new museum. Jeanne and her firm is best known for the "Marilyn Monroe Towers," officially known as Absolute World, a pair of futuristic condo towers on the shores of Lake Ontario near Toronto. Look for yet another jewel to grace the crown of Chicago's Lake Michigan Lakefront.

Meanwhile in San Francisco ...The San Francisco Chronicle, nudged by its readers to answer the question, "How did SF lose out on the Lucas Museum," reports "The Presidio Trust Botched Lucas Museum Negotiations."

NOW IN SANTA ROSACalabi Gallery | http://www.calabigallery.comDennis has recently relocated his unique gallery to Sant Rosa.
SPECIAL EVENT -- photographer Penny Wolin will be speaking about her latest book
Descendants of Light: American Photographers of Jewish Ancestry
on Saturday, August 2nd at 6pm.
456 Tenth Street, Santa Rosa, CA 95401 | email: info@calabigallery.com | 707-781-7070
Now showing ... Summer Selection
Famed master conservator Dennis Calabi brings his rare knowledge and experience
to present a tasteful and eclectic array of primarily 20th century artwork.http://www.calabigallery.com | Back to the Top

Easton, Crustacean Dancing Dream, American Alabaster

IN Santa Rosa The Annex Galleries specializing in 19th, 20th, and 21st century American and European fine prints
Grand (Re)Opening Inaugural Group ExhibitionThe Annex Galleries is a member of the International Fine Print Dealers Association (IFPDA).http://www.AnnexGalleries.com| Back to the Top

IN PETALUMAVintage Bank AntiquesVintage Bank Antiques is located in Historic Downtown Petaluma, corner of Western Avenue and Petaluma Blvd. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Warren Davis and the rest of the team at Vintage Bank Antiques has assembled a spectacular inventory of paintings. From the 18th Century to Contemporary Artists. We have paintings to suit every price point and collector level.
If you have a painting for sale, please consider Vintage Bank Antiques. Contact Warren Davis directly at WarrenDavisPaintings@yahoo.com, 101 Petaluma Blvd. North, Petaluma, CA 94952, ph: 707.769.3097http://vintagebankantiques.com | Back to the Top

IN PETALUMAPetaluma Art Center"... to celebrate local artists and their contributions and involve the whole community

IN CALISTOGA the Lee Youngman Gallery
Featuring the work of contemporary painter Paul Youngman,
and the works of famed painter, Ralph Love (1907-1992)http://www.leeyoungmangalleries.com | Back to the Top
Left ... Lee Youngman, Right ... Paul Youngman